Greek New Testament: With English Introduction including Greek/English dictionary/flexible (Greek Edition)

Like NA27, this is the leading edition of the original text of the New Testament. It contains the same Greek text as NA27, differing only in some details of punctuation and paragraphing. The format of UBS4 is in several respects more user-friendly for students and translators than NA27. It has a more spacious appearance and a larger font. English sub-headings assist in navigating the text for those who may be less familiar with Greek. Old Testament quotations appear in easily recognizable bold font. Synoptic parallels are clearly listed under English headings.

The critical apparatus includes exegetically significant variants (fewer than NA27) but adds extensive manuscript evidence (more than NA27) for each variant, thereby offering in-depth instruction for students on how variants and the evidence for them work together.

An introduction in English is included and an optional Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament by Barclay Newman is available.

The Greek New Testament from United Bible Society now in 4th edition

Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine (same as this but together with Latin Vulgate)

The difference between the one offered by UBS and this one is that this has more footnotes on differences between manuscripts. In this newest edition, the actual textual decisions between the two are the same. The UBS is better for those who want to use the text for translation, and this one is better for those who are interested in studying textual critical issues.

Also keep in mind there are many interlinear Bibles out there that are probably better for those whose knowledge of Greek is limited. Take care, however, to distinguish between those which are based on Stephen's 1550 Textus Receptus and those which give a complete apparatus for comparing many manuscripts. Most biblical scholars feel the Textus Receptus was flawed in many ways.


Excellent portable copy of the Greek NT   April 23, 2003
 97 out of 100 found this review helpful

This small book is nevertheless very well designed. First, the print is large and very readable. No question about whether you're looking at rough or a smooth breathing marks, for example.

Second, the textual apparatus is rather daunting but fascinating. It really lets you see why certain words are included or excluded from certain translations based on the original text. It also has a good intro listing the various sources used in the apparatus; to those who have little or no background in textual criticism this is invaluable to understanding what you're looking at and, in general, the unprecedented range of manuscript evidence for the New Testament. If you think the New Testament is the product of the fourth century church, you'll think again after reading through the apparatus (which is why no reputable scholar holds that opinion).

Finally, the dictionary in the back is quite good for its small size, separately listing many of the principal parts of verbs. One of the toughest parts of reading the Greek NT (especially for a student of Greek like myself) has to be parsing verbs you don't recognize, and this makes the task much easier.

Postscript: There has been a review that says that this is "really" the NA27. Well, it's not. There are two distinct common versions of the Greek NT: NA27 and UBS4. This book is the latter. The actual text is identical: the difference is in the critical apparatus. Which is better? It depends on your purposes. If you are doing detailed historical studies where you need to know the maximum amount about the various manuscripts of the NT, then buy the NA27. It has a wealth of information on each page that covers virtually every existing variant.

But for most of us, who primarily want the text and would like to understand the most significant variants, buy this edition. I have found the text of this UBS4 version easier to read, and the apparatus MUCH easier to read. The arcane coding system used by the NA27, while necessary to fit so much information into a manageable size, makes it much harder to use for the average user.



Frustratingly, 4th edition leaves you missing the 3rd   April 12, 2004
 45 out of 47 found this review helpful

This Greek New Testament (UBS4) uses the same text as the earlier 3rd edition (1975, corr. ed. 1983). The presentation of this text differs in two respects, neither of which is unambiguously an improvement:

1. A different font is used for the text itself. Not just a different font, but a repellently ugly font that has not much resemblance to any font with which a quality edition of a Greek text has ever been published before. Yes, ever. The geniuses at the United Bible Societies are the first people (going back to Erasmus' publication of a NT edition in 1516) who thought that a hideous, spindly, faux-italic computer font would be a better choice than ANY of the established Greek fonts that heretofore have been used in the printing of ancient texts. I hope you'll forgive my emotion on this point, but, as a scholar of (Classical) Greek with a library full of Greek texts published by Oxford, Teubner, etc., I am just flabbergasted to see such disregard for tradition as this. The UBS4 font choice is analogous to printing an English Bible in one of those goofy "Calypso" or "Horror Movie" fonts that come with Windows. The UBS3 (1975) and its corrected edition (1983) are both presented in an attractive, standard typeface that would be suitable for a printed edition of any ancient text.

(As an aside: the Nestle-Aland "Novum Testamentum Graece," in some ways the more conventional current scholarly edition of the NT, is also marred by its odd, cramped way of indicating textual variations. Again, Nestle and Aland's innovation of intruding a million squiggles, squares, circles, etc., into a text, is not an improvement over the traditional apparatus criticus--it's just an awkward space-saver. This is a major reason why anyone who wants a clean, accurate, up-to-date Greek text of the NT may want to choose UBS3 over Nestle-Aland.)

2. The other difference is in the selection and presentation of material in the critical apparatus. Here, I'm sure there were sound scholarly reasons. Note that in the UBS Greek Bibles (as opposed to the Nestle-Aland "Novum Testamentum Graece") the point of the apparatus criticus is not to present the larger manuscript tradition and variations synoptically, but to focus in on only those textual variations that might affect the translation of a passage. For these passages, the apparatus indicates a committee's judgment (indicated with a letter scale: A, B, C, D) on the different possible readings and punctuations. Unfortunately, here too the revisions are not definitely an improvement. As Edward Hobbs, a distinguished Professor of Religion at Wellesley College, wrote on a popular Biblical Greek email list, "I also prefer UBS3 or UBS3c, since the evaluations have not undergone the 'grade-inflation' of UBS4. (Slightly different method used to describe the A,B,C,D grades, but the committee membership changed over the years to a more-traditional-in-some-ways and more-clones-of-Aland-in-other-ways group.)" The upshot of this is, the range of information and opinion you get from the apparatus in UBS3 is not obsolete and not inferior to what UBS4 offers.


The Greatest Book   March 5, 2002
 31 out of 44 found this review helpful

The first thing I must commend this book on is its durability. I have had this book for over a year now--in hot weather, cold weather, rain and wind--yet it has held up marvelously well in that time. I've had some bonded leather Bibles that have done much worse than this one.

Secondly, I must say that this book automatically scores a full five stars because it is the word of my God. Yet, I have had some ask me why I would want to go through the "trouble" of learning Greek?

My answer is the Bible is wonderfully understandable in its translations. I believe also that most translations are wonderfully reliable (though all translations, intentionally or not, have their own added "spin").

The true joy (for me at least) in reading the original (I know, I know...these too are copies, not the "real" originals) Greek texts is in getting to know the authors a little better. The translations do not allow you to experience the impeccable grammar of Luke (or Mark's rather poor grammar), the Hebrew-isms of James, the staggering vocabulary of Paul, or the weird way John phrases things. The Greek does.

These joys, combined with the fact that these words have life in them, is the reason that I give this book, out of all the books I have reviewed--or ever will review, my highest recommendation.


Arguably the BEST "Critical Edition" of the Greek N T   March 28, 2000
 27 out of 28 found this review helpful

I own both the UBS text and the Nestle Aland text. As noted by the previous reviewer, there are some differences in how the UBS text notes variant readings. I find the UBS method to be both more complete and easier to read. (See below on the commentary available). I also find the text to be easier to read (slightly larger print, and I think the style of print is easier to read too).

A point of clarification, though, regarding the basic Greek Text. My understanding is that there is very little if any difference IN THE GREEK TEXT between these two editions. They BOTH rely and build upon the work of Wescott and Hort in textual criticism, and reach very similar conclusions about the "best readings" for any given variant.

The companion volume (A Textual Commentary) also published by UBS is a GREAT addition. It helps you understand why the committee reached the conclusions they did about which reading may be the best reading. Note; whenever a variant reading exists in the extensive library of ancient manuscripts, it is noted in the footnotes (Critical Apparatus). There is also a note as to how comfortable the committee was about their selection of the best text. An "A" rating means that there is no question in their minds. A "D" rating might mean that the selected reading is only very slightly more likely to be the original reading than one of the other variants. (I hope that is clear). In some cases I have taken exception with their decision on "D" readings, and it helps to know that they were not completely comfortable with the choice they had made.

One advantage of the Nestle text is that it is just slightly smaller and easier to carry (a vest pocket edition. (As noted above, you pay for the size in it being not as easy to read.) My copy of Nestle is cloth bound while the UBS text is bound in vinyl/plastic. My UBS text has proven to be very durable. A word of caution... don't leave it on the dashboard or seat of your car on a hot day. The heat WILL damage the binding.